Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Southern stoneware verse-inscribed garden tile, signed Dave
Savannah River Valley or Central Georgia, dated 1869, press-molded form
and triple scallop top with inverted pyramid design body, modified
Albany and unglazed lower body, incised, "LM" and "Dave" with verse
"This my last you will see for now my lord is calling me June 5, 1869." H8 1/8" W8 1/2" D1 1/4"

Provenance: Private collection. Sold for $8,000.00 at Charlton Hall, September 11, 2011.

Auction house description: Other Notes: DAVE: SLAVE TO FREE MAN
In the years following the Civil War's end and the freeing of African
slaves around the South it is unclear what became of the Edgefield
potter we know as Dave. His work in Edgefield, South Carolina stoneware
productions from Pottersville to Stoney Bluff is clearly identified
through his signature and verses appearing between the dates of 1829 to
1864, with a strong devotion to Lewis Miles. Periods of unsigned vessels
have occurred for up to five years and can possibly be explained by
change of ownership or change in location. The exact origin of Southern
slave-made garden tiles has never truly been identified. The tiles are
found in many locations near and around the Savannah River both in
Georgia and South Carolina, lining the walkways in gardens and
surrounding Southern grave sites. The productions of these tiles would
have clearly been within Dave's grasp as a free man in a changing world
and industry in the American South. The Dave signature and LM occurring
on this piece are a clear match to the vessels he produced in earlier
years. The handwriting in the verse which reads, "This my last you will
see for now my lord is calling me" could be a late example of his style
of handwriting or possibly the hand of an assistant or apprentice
inscribing his words as instructed. It is widely believed that Dave died
sometime around 1870, and this tile would indicate that he felt that
his time was soon to come. Currently, this is the last known signed and
dated example of stoneware created by the potter known as Dave.